No More
by Sunday Wolf Song
Summary: Roger is angsting and confronts his father. Songfic to "No More" from Into the Woods. Read, Review, and Enjoy.


_So today was my last performance of Into the Woods, and I just had to write something in honor of the final curtain call. I was thinking about how I hadn't written RENT in awhile, and this just kind of came at me. Sorta songfic to "No More" from Into the Woods. I cut a few bits to make it fit the story better, but all of the lyrics are in Italics. Enjoy..._

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"Roger! Please, don't leave… Please," was all he heard as he slammed the door of the loft shut. He stormed down the stairs and out into the October night. He didn't even remember what he and Mimi had been fighting about only minutes before he reached his breaking point and said he was leaving.

Things between them had been rocky ever since they found out Mimi was pregnant. They both thought they were so careful, and that they were too sick to even have to worry about something like this. Even though the risks were high, Mimi refused to have an abortion. She said Angel came to her in a dream to say that that would be murder.

This made Roger angry, scared, and relieved all at once. Of course he didn't exactly want to get rid of the baby. But neither of them was in any condition to raise a child. And what if something happened to them? What if the baby got sick before it even had a chance to live?

He didn't even realize where he was going until he got there. He stood outside his father's crappy apartment for a minute, watching his foggy breath curl into the cool night air. He then walked inside, not knowing exactly what it was he wanted to say to his father.

"Roger?" His father questioned as he walked in. "I haven't seen you in almost two years. What's happening, everything all right? I tried calling last Christmas but I think your power was out."

"Mimi's pregnant," Roger whispered.

His father nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Roger stared at his father with a cold expression, "Why did you leave me and mom?"

His father did not look angry at his question. Only saddened. "I thought I could handle it all. But when I realized I was such a failure, I thought it would be better if I left you and your mother be. And you did alright without me, didn't you?"

"We could have done better with you there," Roger muttered.

"Do you want me to go back in time? Try and change the past? Don't you think I've wished I could go back and do things over again?" His father barked.

"_No more questions, please_," Roger murmured, "_No more tests. Comes the day you say 'what for?' Please, no more_."

"_They disappoint, they disappear, they die but they don't_," His father said in reply.

"_What?_" Roger muttered, looking at his father as though he were delirious.

"_They disappoint in turn, I fear. Forgive, though, they won't_," His father whispered.

Roger looked at his father angrily, "_No more riddles. No more jests. No more curses you can't undo, left by fathers you never knew. No more quests. No more feelings. Time to shut the door. Just… no more_."

Grabbing hold of Roger's arm, his father said quietly, "_Running away- let's do it, free from the ties that bind. No more despair or burdens to bear, out there in the yonder. Running away- go to it. Where did you have in mind? Have to take care: Unless there's a 'where,' you'll only be wandering blind. Just more questions. Different kind_."

Roger sighed as he sat down desolately on his father's old couch.

"_Where are we to go? Where are we ever to go?_" His father questioned, sitting next to his son.

"_Running away- we'll do it_." He continued, "_Why sit around, resigned? Trouble is, son, the farther you run, the more you feel undefined, for what you've left undone and more, what you've left behind_."

"_We disappoint, we leave a mess, we die but we don't_..." Roger's father whispered, laying a hand on his son's shoulder.

"_We disappoint in turn, I guess. Forget, though, we won't_..." Roger said quietly.

"_Like father, like son_," They mumbled together.

"Go to her son," His father urged. "Don't make the same mistakes I've made."

And with that Roger left the apartment and made his way back to the loft. He came home to find a tired looking Mimi lying on their bed, clutching his pillow. They murmured their apologies and Mimi drifted off to sleep.

Roger stayed awake, thinking.

_Can't we just pursue our lives, with our children and our wives? 'Till that happy day arrives, how do you ignore all the lies, the false hopes, the goodbyes, the reverses, all the wondering what even worse is still in store? No more._

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_What did you think? I love this song, and the whole musical actually. If you've never seen or heard Into the Woods, I sincerely suggest you find a copy of the DVD or CD. Please review, I love feedback. _


End file.
